Month: February 2016

One of my favorite desserts in the Fall time is s’mores and caramel covered apples. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it! It is such a creative idea that I would have never thought of and you should definitely try it. Not many ingredients required, but it can get messy.

Ingredients:

6 Granny Smith apples

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 bag Large Marshmallows

10 oz. milk chocolate chips

2 c. crushed graham crackers

Directions:

Remove stems and skewer apples (see “Tricks for Sticks”).

In a saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add marshmallows, and stir until melted.

Dip apples, one at a time, then transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.

Then, in a double boiler over low heat, melt chocolate chips, stirring continuously. Dip an apple into the chocolate, stopping two-thirds of the way up. Immediately dip the lower…

Like this:

The rain and chilly weather have made their way to my spot in FL, and along with a steaming cup of black coffee, I opened one of my beloved books.

Celtic Oracle by Gerry Maguire Thompson is a fun and easy oracle deck to work with. The cards feature beautiful illustrations capturing the mystical characteristics of each animal and plant they represent, and I can’t quite resist the simple power and meaning they impart.

I drew 2 cards this morning, one plant totem and one animal totem. Both seemed to coincide with the current New Moon energies and symbolism, as well as the energies that rebirth with the passing of the Wheel from Imbolg toward Spring Equinox/Easter.

I hope these energies resonate within your Heart, and that the season has you productive, healthy, happy, and harmonious 🙂

Blackbird {Druid Dhubh}

“The blackbird is the bird of enchantment. In Celtic legend, its song can send the hearer into a magical trance that enables entry into the Otherworld. The blackbird signifies self- awareness, self -discovery, and exploration of the inner world of the individual psyche.” ~Celtic Oracle.

The New Moon during the turning of the Lunar year has been calling forth that energy required to look inward, to listen to your intuition (‘self- awareness’). This in turn can then be manifested to explore and discover that which moves and motivates you to expression (‘self- discovery’).

This energy is much like the Blackbird represented in this card. Use this energy and look to your own inner self. The answers to your questions are within you; all of them.

Oak {Duir}

“The Oak is the most revered of all Celtic trees, bestowing great power and breadth of vision. The Oak engenders self confidence and optimism, the ability to cope with danger and difficulty, and high standards of morality, and the determination to tell the truth. Uncontrolled, the Oak’s powerful energy can lead to being overly demanding or interested in the pursuit of glory.” ~Celtic Oracle

The Oak by far was the King of the trees to the Druids. The word druid roughly translates to oak men, and the tendency for some species in the Oak’s family to grow large and live long have made the Oak a meaningful totem for strength and outward movement.

Which is probably why the Druids sought to model their great teachers/leaders after the Oak’s characteristics.

Harness the power of this kingly tree only after having taken the time to self-reflect and become aware of your inner voice. Once you’ve spent some time intimating with your Self, you can use the inner strength and power you’ve nurtured to cultivate your self-confidence to go after your dreams and reach your goals.

I hope these cards bring meaning & joy on your Saturday, and if anything, meditate on the symbolism of these totems to help you along your journey.

Let me tell you what it means to be a Viking. It means that you follow what I like to call The Law of Highest Resistance. I have lived by this rule for most of my adult life and in this blog post, I will try to explain what it means.

As we all know, life is not always easy. But it’s human nature to choose what seems to be the easiest way out of difficult situations. We all know people who tend to do that. It could be your co-worker who always wants to go for the easy, short-term option, or it could be that alcoholic who always chooses another drink instead of sobering up. We see people like that every day. Among our friends and relatives, among politicians in the news. The human population seems to have a very high percentage of what I like to call «easy…

The new moon is here, which means another turning of the lunar year. Now is the time to enter cleansing mode; the art of release is the energy focus for the next week.

And the proximity of Imbolg to this weekend’s New/Dark Moon has release, cleansing, & planning written all over it. This is a time for introspection, making goals, and releasing old and no longer useful energies and patterns. With this lunar phase, though, the need for release and cleansing seems higher.

When release is achieved and cleansing has been completed, planning can be started to later accomplish the goals we set for ourselves now.

When practicing the art of release, essentially we have to cleanse/clean. This can manifest as physical cleaning and de-cluttering of our living and working spaces, and it can manifest within our Selves–spiritually, mentally, and emotionally cleansing or releasing.

So take this time, this turning of the Moon, to release that which no longer serves you, to cleanse your spaces, and to listen to your inner Self. Plans and goals should be tended and worked toward at this time, and nighttime dreams should be accounted for. Try keeping a dream journal for quick writing when waking. Believe it or not, our Dream Selves are a very real part of us. They can intimate many knowings if we just listen.

The following are suggestions to help begin this process; most of all, let it come from the Heart, and harmony and new opportunities will be invited in once the old has been released.

Throw open windows, let in sunlight, hang crystals & chimes in the windows (& other parts of the house) to help release stale air & energy & help invite fresh air & clean energy

Bring in plants; ivy, pothos, succulents, fuschias, African violets, etc. can make great houseplants because they don’t require direct or overbearing sunlight. They’ll also raise the vibrations & good juju in the home.

Dust, sweep, vacuum, mop; do all these things like Spring cleaning fever. The act of sweeping (this can also be achieved symbolically with sweeping motion) itself is both physical and spiritual: dust & dirt are swept out, as are negative energies & emotions.

Smudge (with windows open to help release the energy & bring in the fresh), burn candles, burn incense; the act of ‘burning’ cleanses the air & negative energies to make receptive to higher vibrations & energies.

Toss the synthetic air fresheners and cleaners, and opt for all-natural: boil cinnamon sticks for a spicy aroma, add a few drops of essential oil (like lavender, basil, rosemary, or mint) to your mop water or cleaning water, and even opt for an aromatherapy oil burner.

As the energies from Imbolg fade into the distance, Dark Moon reminds us to look inward, to dream, and to recognize our true callings. Pull those inward thoughts out and release them onto paper–in a journal, as a list of goals, aspirations, hopes, etc. Use these dreams to make goals that will help you get to where you want to go on Life’s path.

Now is the perfect time to plan out the steps toward reaching any goals that you do want to set for yourself, and the careful planning and hard work will pay off later in the year. Whether it relates to career, finances, family, romance, friendship, etc., planning goals and dreaming big will help keep you focused throughout the remainder of 2016–and the year of the Monkey!

But even though hard work is necessary and daunting at times, it will bring its rewards. Just don’t let “all work” be your main focus that it becomes passionless. Play, laugh, create something new, and keep dreaming.

Blessings, Love & Light Xo

[Image courtesy of UniverseToday.com; “Photo of the Moon shows its far side. The image was taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft as it was speeding out on its journey to Jupiter.”]

Imbolg has come and gone, and this weekend’s New Moon has me itchy. I apologize for being away for..well, forever it seems. I wanted to post on Imbolg, if only to give a quick card reading and daily blessing, but I had the cleaning fever.

My small space had been a literal cluster fuck of odds and ends, and honestly, if it weren’t for my hubby our junk drawers never would’ve been cleaned. So I took the initiative and threw open the windows, raised the vibrations with sunlight and music, and began the process of out with the old and in with the new.

Dust got swept away along with decaying energies. My ceiling fans, blinds, curtains, and sills have been cleansed of debris–spiritual and microbial. And, wow, I have gardens outside so why the hell haven’t I bothered to bring that indoors? Honestly, I have no answer for that one. But I went classic with Ivy and Pothos. Can’t go wrong with Ivy and Pothos.

My crystals are set and ready to be drained of old and useless energies under this weekend’s Dark Moon, so I can cleanse and charge them when the Full Moon comes round again.

And of course during this freaking crazy transition (all celestial cluster fuck too), writing and angst are co-creators. The waning moon transitioning into the new lunar year has been tough on me, and writing and crafting and musical expression have been keeping me, for the most part, from pure insanity.

All in all, it’s been good really. I am so grateful for who and what I have in my life that I truly feel like I got this. As if my joy in cleansing my spaces (yes, I actually am loving cleaning this time around) and releasing that which no longer serves me will invite much needed harmonious frequencies into my home.

Head over to my new home for Barefoot in Florida: FL Life, healing herbs, intuitive plant readings, Kannaway Life, CBD/hemp for health & wellness

I’ve always loved the abstract freedom found in just jotting down designs intuitively. Swirls, curves, edges, dots lines… Each shape holds an intricacy all its own. This is probably why sigil drawing has always held sway over me. I’ve been attracted to creating bindrunes for years, but have never just closed my eyes and let […]

Working with energy can be tricky at best, and utterly discouraging at worst. But when I find that connection, the currents of what I feel power all things, the world feels right. I am a bit new to actively working with my own energy/vibrational frequency, like meditation and breathing to figure through ailments or illnesses […]

Divination [i.e. the act of seeing future events] has been a sketchy subject in modern society–in so far as does it actually exist let alone work–but historical and archaeological evidence suggests people of all types of cultures throughout human history have believed/practiced some form of divination or prophecy. There are tons of different types of […]

Many people have heard of and have a general idea of what acupuncture is. But contrary to the popular “cure-it-now” belief system of most Westerners, acupuncture is a therapy system used to continuously treat symptoms of various ailments over a period of time. Because of this, acupuncture can be a very effective treatment plan for […]